bill: bill: president obama talking about fuel efficiency standards and what the government wants us to be driving by the year 2055. >> the super car. good to be with you, bill. i'll see you after my vacation, great to see everybody. "happening now" gets started right now. jenna: hi, everybody. we're starting off with this fox news alert. we want to show you what's happening with the markets today, the dow dropping again this morning as the debt deal stalls in washington, and we also get some startling news on the economy. it was down more than 100 points early on, you see it coming back off that low. but let's talk a little bit about the reading on the economy. new gross domestic product, gdp figures showing the economy slow today a crawl in the first six months of this year. the gdp growing by 1.3% between april and june, and that is the first reading on the second quarter. you have four quarters of the year, this is the first reading

on the second quarter. another important headline came out about the first quarter, the first three months of the year. that number was revised downward to just .4 of a percent, just barely in positive territory. consumers are certainly cutting back, sales of big ticket items like cars and appliances tumbling more than 4%, and that's really effecting our economic growth. we're going to be talking more about this throughout the show today. so that's our first headline but one of many as we start off this friday morning. hi, everybody, i'm jenna lee. jon: and i'm jon scott. dramatic new developments in that debt standoff in washington, and we are all over them. president obama speaking just moments ago urging republicans and democrats to reach some kind of compromise. he's warning the u.s. will lose its top credit rating if it falls into an unprecedented default. jenna: and it could lose that rating anyway. that's something we've been hearing a lot this week, that

despite some of the decisions made in d.c., we could still see a downgrade. now, the political standoff as we know it is escalating this hour. a senior gop official, a house aide, i should say, telling fox news that house republicans will pass their debt plan today. we thought that yesterday. we'll see if it happens today. a bill that senate democrats say is dead on arrival, though, as they move ahead with their own debt limit bill setting up a showdown vote really for this weekend. ahead of that host of your world, neil cavuto, is live on capitol hill with his observations about what's happening down there in d.c., neil. first of all, let's start off with the economy though. what is the latest news telling us about the state of our economy today? >> reporter: well, jenna, i'm glad you led with that right away. that is the big news here, and for the markets the far bigger worry. you know, a lot of people say the market is what's going on in washington. that is only partly true. the markets have been hiccupping to to the degree they have been precisely because the economy appears to be slowing down

markedly. this 1.3%gdp increase as you talked about, as you also indicated the .4 of a prosecutor revised rate was darn close to a recessionary level. and now on the heels of merck announcing t going to lay off 13,000 people, we've had better than 25,000 layoffs announced just this week and more than a few companies, once very strong names like research in motion, juniper networks indicating they don't see demand for their products what they once were could be signaling this proverbial double dip you hear about. so the drama in washington is sort of a side show here, albeit an important one. but for corporate america and for the economy in general, that's a big concern. and as the president did point out in his remarks in the middle of that the possibility of a downgrade and the highest rates that go -- higher rates that go with it are not very fun developments for either party. even though i've got to stress,

jenna, that even if we have a deal whether it's rushed or cobbled together in if time for the august 2nd deadline, it doesn't mean the ratings agencies still won't downgrade the united states because they've threatened to do it, and the spending cuts they're talking about in these deals are not substantial enough to bypass such a rating downgrade. so we could get one anyway. jenna: not fun seems to sum it up, neil, using your phrase on that. obviously, we're talking about a major domestic issue with, also, equally major international ramifications. and this just came out from china's state news agency today, yesterday i should say. they issued this commentary on what's happening in washington, and china, of course, is a major owner of our debt. so this is what they had to say, neil. political brinkmanship in washington is dangerously irresponsible. the ugliest part of the saga is that the well being of many other countries is also in the impact zone when the donkey and the elephant fight. the potential collateral damage is way too heavy.

what are your thoughts on that? >> reporter: well, leaving aside the chinese criticizing the transparency or lack thereof in our country and the hypocrisy of that, i'll focus on the fact that they are big debt holders and what they do. i think what was left out is the follow-up statement made there, jenna, to say, essentially, we have nowhere else to go. i don't know what mandarin is for nowhere else to go, but they have nowhere else to go. so it would probably not be in their interest to all of a sudden sell en masse here from all of their holdings in the u.s. which are north of a trillion dollars. having said that, though, their warning probably is very valid and very, very wise. the feeling seems to be here is we're just sort of frittering and the cuts we're talking about in the end might not be that much to get china or other investors off the hook. that's why i think what the chinese, the japanese, the canadians, the germans are going to look at -- all very big

holders of our debt, one, two, three, and four -- is what we're going to do in the event the government shuts down. there's talk back and forth that after the markets close today, jenna, treasury officials are going to outline that emergency, those contingency plans, if you will. and one of the plans being advanced is sort of a here is the pecking order of the must-do bills we have to pay in the event we shut down. keep in mind that even if we do shut down, jenna, we are still getting better than $172 billion a month in tax revenue. in other words, people at home who think that all of a sudden taxes won't be taken out of their paycheck come august 2nd might be sorely disappointed. they still will be. so washington gets all that money coming in the, and the details are emerging later after the market closes today who gets paid out of that $172 billion coming in every month. but we spend $306, $307 billion every month. who's the most important bill you pay? right there, that's what will be

decided. jenna: neil, just really quick your thoughts on this; do you think this conflict in d.c. whether it's about our solvency as a nation, the value of our dollar, do you think this has changed, the status of our country? is this a game changer for us? >> reporter: you know, at the risk of sounding maybe heretical and making a big deal being in washington and doing all these promos and all that, no, i don't, jenna. i think that, if anything, it's brought to light how the heck we've had a aaa credit rating for so long playing these games. we've done this better than 70 times over the last not even a century. we keep doing it again and again. it's a wonder to me why and how it takes a moment like this to bring to attention the fact that we rob peter to pay paul, and we do it all the time. so i think if anything this latest drama has illustrated how bad the spending problem is. because it isn't this being drawn to a deadline that has us on the brink, jenna. it's all the spending that's preceded it.

and by both parties. so i think the so-called financial chickens have come home to roost here, and it's not going to be good. jenna: some important context for us to keep in mind today, neil, as we go over these issues again and again. thank you so much for taking the time to join us. >> reporter: sure. jenna: we know we'll see you back here at 4 p.m. eastern time. neil's going to host your world live from capitol hill, and click over to fox business network at 6p.m.. obviously, the story will change a lot between those two hours. get in-depth analysis always. certainly, don't miss it. jon: well, president obama is steering away from the debt ceiling debate for a moment this morning to focus on fuel economy standards in this country. the president announcing right now a new round of fuel standards for cars and trucks to be sold in the u.s. the standards require them to get about 54 miles to the gallon by the year 2025. jim angle is live in washington with more on that.

jim? >> reporter: hello, jon. yep, 54.5 miles a gallon by 2025. the administration had wanted 56, and it argued for that for several weeks. it finally got agreement with several automakers for today's increase. keep in mind the current numbers are 29.7, that is an average for all the autos sold in the u.s. now, the automakers had resisted arguing consumers have shown little interest in buying more expensive hybrids even with high gasoline prices. in fact, the 30 hybrid models now on the market only account for 2.4% of total sales. and just last year ford sold almost twice as many f-150 pickups as all the hybrids put together. so the fear among automakers is that they will be forced to produce cars that are smaller and lighter -- raising safety concerns of course -- have less power and be fewer amenities which add rate. and they fear consumers won't

buy them leading to job losses in the industry. but the automakers reluctantly went along, and that's what the president is announcing this morning in part because the automakers got some sweeteners from the white house. they get some credits which will reduce the mileage number they have to hit, but most important the manufacturers want a midterm review of the higher standards in 2017 to 2018 to see what the technology is and whether consumers are responding the way the administration argues they will. one source calls that a reality check, one that would take place under a different presidency and a different congress, so you might get a different result. now, some analysts question the administration's approach on pushing the 54.5 mileage standards without regard for what technology may be available at the time. one says it's like dealing with the nation's obesity problem by forcing clothing manufacturers to sell only small sizes. but for now there is at least a

temporary agreement to do what they can among the automakers and the administration. jon: so this is a case of the administration saying these are your new standards, and you will like them. >> reporter: that is correct. and the i automakers got what they could out of the white house. most important thing is to have a second look at how things are going when they get just a few years from when those standards quick in. jon: all right. jim angle, thank you as always. >> reporter: you bet, jon. john: right now a young girl is missing. we're talking about 11-year-old selena cass. she was last seen going to bed in her own home on monday night. now investigators are going door the door to try to find her, the latest on their search for clues coming up. and, of course, we have following the latest developments on capitol hill. harris is at the web wall for us. >> reporter: i am. go to foxnews.com and while you're there click on jon and jenna's gorgeous picture. we'd like to get you to decide what stories we should see and

your choices right now, how far would you travel for love? there are some animals who are migrating for breeding, and what they're doing in risking their lives is worth the story, so maybe you'll choose that. or if you like to mix glamorous life with some of your pass sometimes -- pastimes, i mix it with breaking news, some people like to mix it with camping. you'll learn more about that. or prince harry. no big wedding to speak of yet, but he's getting some huge publicity based on a book that's coming out, it's a comic book. foxnews.com/happeningnow, and if it is "happening now," you want to be with us. stay close.

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jon: right now new information on some crime stories we're keeping an eye on. the search for an 11-year-old missing girl from new hampshire is crossing international borders now. more than 100 searchers looking for selena cass, including the fbi and the royal canadian

mountain police. authorities are talking to every single person in her hometown. she was last seen monday night at her computer. a former astronaut once accused of trying to kidnap a romantic rival, remember her? lisa now back is retiring with her contact in the navy listed as, quote, other than honorable. she was convicted of battery in 2007. she was arrested after driving cross-country who was also dating a fellow astronaut. the murder trial for kenneth stewart, the man accused in a deadly shooting spree at a nursing home, starts monday. stewart is accused of gunning down seven elderly patients and a nurse at the north carolina facility in 2009. jenna: taking you out to texas now, new information about an alleged terror plot at fort hood. police now saying the suspect admitted planning what would have been the second attack on this base in the less than two years. you might remember back in november of 2009 a gunman opened

fire there killing 13 people, injuring dozens more. and just as in that case, in this case the suspect is a u.s. soldier. chris gutierrez joins us live from texas with the latest details. chris? >> reporter: hi, good morning to you, jenna. 21-year-old nasser abdu spent the night in jail, and he'll appear before a magistrate in federal court where he'll have those federal charges of bomb making read against him. but this morning we're learning new information coming from texas congressman john carter who says he has been led to believe that abdu allegedly planned to set off one, maybe two bombs in and around a crowded restaurant that at the time would probably be full of fort hood soldiers and their family members. and the allegation goes on that as those soldiers would run for safety, abdu allegedly planned to shoot at his fellow soldiers.

apparently, the information that congressman carter is gathering is that the attack wasn't a direct attack at fort hood because he just simply wasn't familiar with the army post itself. remember, fort hood is the largest military installation in the country, it spans some 350 square miles. it's also important that we keep in mind this was all foiled by an alert gun store employee who noticed what he described as strange behavior, and he reported that to authorities. the local officials who i'm speaking to and people who work in and around this post say they are extremely lucky because of that. listen here. >> every american has to with aware that these kinds of people are around, they're just as vigilant as the most vigilant of us, and they're looking for opportunities. >> reporter: that was retired sergeant howard ray who was at fort hood and helped wounded soldiers during the november 5, 2009, shooting at the post. his concern and that of many

others moving forward, jenna, is who or what is next. back to you. jenna: some good questions for us, and more developments as we get them, chris. thank you very much. >> reporter: you bet. jon: cubans are marking a milestone with some big changes. the anniversary of the 1959 cuban revolution. well, decades later now the communist government is opening up to some capitalism. some cubans can actually start their own businesses now. but like many of us here in the u.s., they are upset over how much they're paying in taxes. sound familiar? steve harry michigan live in miami with more. steve? >> reporter: jon, the cuban government is looking back to its communist origins and trying to push the citizens in a different direction. there is a lot of skepticism that this aging cuban government leadership can actually manage the transition. a government haircut in cuba

costs eight cents, a private sector barber costs five time more. 300,000 cubans have entered the private sector in the past year alone. small businessmen and women who work out of their homes, yards or a 1956 ford victoria. [speaking spanish] >> reporter: having a license to do this just makes my life easier, says juan. it means i don't have to hide from the inspectors anymore. ♪ >> reporter: the piecemeal capitalism is doled out by an increasingly desperate communist leadership trying to keep the cuban economy afloat. one number stands out here on revolution day, 80. 80% of cubans still work for the state, the country still imports 80% of its food, and the man in charge of changing all that just turned 80 years old. the next stage of reforms which could begin next month, the ability to buy and sell your car or house, something currently against the law.

these new cuban entrepreneurs have to pay about 35% of their profits in taxes, that taxi driver we spoke to said in the past he made enough just to eat, but now he's able to have some pocket money as well. he said the taxes are high, and that's a real new complaint for cubans, but he says it's well worth it right now. jon steve, if they were able to export all those classic american cars that they imported before the revolution, they'd be able to put a huge dent in their financial problems in that country, wouldn't they? >> reporter: sure. and he's paying about $6 a gallon, but he can pack eight people into that car at time. jon: amazing. and they keep them running still. all those classic '40s and '50s cars. steve harry michigan. jenna: a separate search for this missing mom, the new clues leading police to suspect foul play. we have those clues just ahead. plus, new reaction from gop leaders in just moments when they emerge from a closed door meeting on the debt plan. are they closer to a deal?

is we'll learn straight ahead. 

jenna: a fox news alert, want to take you to d.c. the gop is emerging from a behind closed doors, they're having a meeting about what's going to happen with this boehner bill. we're monitoring any comments that are happening out of this meeting because the big question is, will the boehner bill actually come to the floor today on the debt ceiling and a debt reduction package? and if it does, are there any changes to the bill to get more republicans to vote yes on it? that was the problem yesterday, that's why we didn't have a vote. we'll continue to monitor all those coming out of the meeting, bringing you the latest as soon as we get it. in the meantime right now a search is going on in texas for a 20-year-old mother missing since sunday. amber's trail blazer turned up with the window broken and a lot

of blood inside. her mother got a call from her in the middle of the night and missed it. when she called back, a man answered and hung up. harris faulkner has more on this. >> reporter: yeah, a couple of other details having to do with the mom, and she says she's been getting odd text messages since her daughter disappeared, amber el cins, 20 years old, as you mentioned. we don't know the nature of those odd text messages, but it is an important part of the information, so we're told. harris county sheriff's department down in the houston area looking for amber after they found her car in disrepair; broken window, a substantial amount of blood inside, and no clues for where she might be. they have a tipline out for this, but they say recently she's been in a custody battle over her child, so they're looking at that part of the story and, also, those text messages that are supposedly coming from amber's phone. she's been missing since last sunday, and that tip line is

713-222-tips. want to quote the sheriff's department, they fear something bad may have happened to her, and they are depending on the public's help to try to help them see if they can find amber, elkins. jenna: we hope they do, harris. thank you. >> reporter: sure. jon: well, the debt crisis continues, and all eyes are on whether or not washington can strike some kind of a deal on that crisis before the august 2nd deadline. that's when the treasury department says uncle sam will have to choose who gets paid and who doesn't. but the standoff over america's financial be security already has people talking about another date looming large, we're talking about election day 2012. larry saab doe is the director of the center for politics in virginia, he keeps a close eye on this kind of thing. so what about it? do you see any repercussions

already for either political party or for the president, members of congress as a result of what's happened thus far? >> with well, jon -- well, jon, it's been very dramatic. it's like the perils of pauline, and, you know, we're up, we're down, we're over, we're out. nobody really knows how this is going to end out. my suggestion is that whatever the public's impressions are today, they really don't matter. what's going to matter is what happens tuesday and thereafter. will there be a default or not? if there isn't a default, then i think the public's attention goes right back to the main problem which is the lack of jobs, the sour economy, the lack of economic growth. if there is a default, though, oh, my god are we in if for a game game. get ready. the fingers will be pointing every direction. jon: and you say most people are blaming republicans and maybe especially the tea party component among the republicans, but you say that's because of news coverage? how do you mean that?

>> well, i think the news coverage has focused on the tea party members of the house caucus in the particular, house republican caucus being, quote, the problem. that is, they're the ones refusing to compromise. we need to remember they're doing what they were elected to do. you can agree or disagree with them, they were elected -- and we weren't. you know, pundits and reporters weren't elected. most of us couldn't get elected dogcatcher. they were elected by people who felt very strongly about the debt. they're trying to fulfill their campaign promises. now, there are consequences. you know, you can be very principled, but you can principle yourself right out of public office. some of them may have to see how this turns out. jon: you've been watching washington for a long time, it's been pointed out that these debt ceiling increases have been pretty routine in the past, but these are different times. i mean, we find ourselves in an era in which the government spending eats up almost 25% of

our gdp. that hasn't happened before. >> that's exactly right. and, look, some people would say, i think legitimately, that the fact that the debt limit increases were so routine is how we ended up at $14.5 trillion of national debt. so if nothing else, there is one silver lining to this mess which is that i think everybody is now totally focused on this debt and how we can reduce it, how we can get it under control. that's a positive. let's also hope that we don't have all these negative repercussions from default. i think that will have major political consequences, it will defeat a lot of congressmen if it happens. i'm the last optimist. i think they'll still work it out. jon: well, doug mccelway is on capitol hill and just telling us that he, at least speaker boehner was asked if we have a deal, and the speaker answered, i'm smiling. now, that could be smoke and mirrors, but it could be a good

sign. we'll read the tea lees with you -- tea leaves with you. >> could be. i think that -- yes, thanks a lot, jon. jon: thank you. jenna: how do political blogs influence the presidential campaign? we're going to go behind the scenes of one blog slamming presidential candidate michele bachmann and talk to the people who run it. we have a live report on that straight ahead. also, democratic senator ben cardin on those comments from boehner and what's ahead for thu senate, next. you're on the road to recovery. proper nutrition can help you get back on your feet. three out of four doctors recommend the ensure brand for extra nutrition. ensure clinical strength has revigor and thirteen grams of protein to protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. and immune balance to help support your immune system. ensure clinical strength... helping you to bounce back. ensure! nutrition in charge!

jon: one of the thins we do here inside america's election headquarters is take a look at political blogs and their influence on the 2012 petition alcampaign. one of those blog is is dedicated to criticizing michelle bachman. we go behind the scenes with an interview on the people who run that blog. carl cameron live from washington. >> reporter: the political blogs have been around for a longtime. back in the clinton administration they became potent as a way for critics and opponents of political candidates to get their research out to the public and it's really exploded this year. they are out there for most of the republican candidates. there is one for michelle bachman that has caused a stir and seeped into the mainstream media. it's called dump bachman.org. it's a collection of video and audio on michelle bachman since her days as a state

legislature. she is leading in polls and making a heck of a lot of noise and some of the information from the dump bachman web page, the blog has actually ended up in mainstream press, like the l.a. times and rolling stone, magazine, there you see it the dump bachman blog has got even a lot of attention. we talked to the organizers, and they say they are only trying to set the record straight using video and radio, and documented proof of their allegations. here is a little bit of what they had to say. >> what was fascinating to me is that after i started the blog it started getting a fair amount of traffic, and people started commenting on it, and people started sending me tips, and so i realized that this blog was having an effect. and some of our stories would filter into the mainstream media, and so i knew that it was a good way to spend my time. >> reporter: well they are

sticking with it and they are obviously partisan and it's quite critical. they get between 2 and 4,000 hits a day. again it's often from mainstream media. it starts sometimes on the web but it gets out into that which has a somewhat deeper bit of a reputation. listen to this. >> it's bachman's own words, which she should be confronted with by reporters when asking questions about her candidacy for president of the united states. >> reporter: and there was an incident just yesterday at the national press club where michelle pacman basically said questions about her family, her husband, her family business, her foster kids were all off the table, and the folks at dump bachman.org says we have a long treasure trove into what they called that black box. their business has been increasing today. whether it's mitt romney or sarah palin or rick perry the web is filled with this stuff,

there is no regulation on it. there is no indication that any of it is accurate, a lot of it is gossip. a lot of it is crazy talk from people who have an axe to grind. when it checks out you often see it in print, radio and tv. jon: carl cameron in washington for us. interesting how that gets rolling. thanks, carl. jenna: speaker of the house john boehner will apparently try again today to get a debt deal passed in the house. we don't have any timing on that yet. we do understand he's going to be -- he'll be on the floor talking in just a moment. so we'll make sure we'll bring you up to date on anything that he says about what could be a new bill that hess presenting today. th he's presenting today. the present iwe have a senator from the budget and finance committee. senator, thank you for joining

us today. >> good to be with you. jenna: i'd lick to draw on your 20-plus years of experience in congress. one of the producers in capitol hill described the halls behind you as being vacant of compromise today, it's just not in the air. how would you describe it? >> i've never seen anything quite like this before in my 2 25 years. i do think there is hope in the senate. i think senator reid has really reached out to senator mcconnell. a lot of what is in his proposal has come from the republicans. there is no revenue in leader reid's proposal. we raised the debt limit by the amount of cuts in the deficit, and it really does rely on spending cuts that have been agreed to before by democrats and republicans. so we are trying to come to a bi-partisan agreement in the senate, knowing just how difficult this would be for our economyment quite frankly, speaker boehner's proposal will not pass the senate. as soon as it passes the house i

expect there will be a vote in the senate that will reflect those numbers. jenna: let's talk a little bit about what you might see today. again, we don't have any timing on this. but we do hear that there are some changes to the bill that boehner was going to present. what changes could happen, based on what you know about the bill, what changes might impress you and get you to compromise and say, okay, maybe we'll consider the boehner plan when it comes to the floor of the senate? >> that is a great question. what we're afraid is he'll be moving more to the right to accommodate the so-called tea party members of the house of representatives. they seem to be controlling the process. so it looks like he's going to be moving farther away from a compromise rather than closer. jenna: we don't have any confirmation of that yet as we are waiting for details on the plan. we'll bring everyone up to date when we do. let's talk about the reid plan you were talking about moments ago. senator conrad was on our show yesterday and he said the reid plan in current form will not have the 60 votes to pass the senate. what are your thoughts on that

today? are the votes there? >> i know that speaker reid is talking to leader mcconnell. there will be modifications in the reid proposal in an effort to bring us closer together. hopefully we'll have a bi-partisan agreement in the senate. i mean that is what we're working for. i think leader reid said on the floor of the senate today that he's willing to open up for more compromise, so i do think there is a willingness in the senate to try to come together. we haven't seen that yet in the house. it looks like that the so-called tea party republicans are controlling the agenda in the house of representatives. jenna: we'll see if the senate can lead the way here . i'd like to just talk to you for a moment about your state, your state of maryland, because something interesting happened a few days ago about your state being put on a watch list for a credit downgrade. it wasn't the only state, there was others, but the reason being is that maryland has a lot of military personnel, a lot of federal workers and if something doesn't get resolved in washington the credit rating company said we have to watch the credit value in maryland.

and i'm curious as a lawmaker, have you seen any pre per suggests of that? what's been the reaction in your state based on that warning from this one ratings company? >> it's very clear that every person in maryland will be affected if we do not raise the debt limit. we need to raise the debt limit. marylanders will see increased cost not just because they are federal taxpayers but because they are state taxpayers, if we violate the cap on tuesday. our goal number one is to raise the debt cap, it has nothing to do with the debts that have already been incurred, we have to pay for that. and number two, we've got to get our debt more manageable and under control. there are goals and we'll work hard to achieve that. jenna: it's a good reminder about not only the national downgrade that could happen but the downgrade on the stateside as well. thank you for joining us. jon: we are keeping an eye on other stories besides all of the

goings on in washington. brand-new details to bring you about the air france crash in the atlantic. all 228 people on board perished. there are shocking reports out now of pilot error and unreliable equipment all adding up to the worst crash in that airline's history. another terror plot targeting fort hood in texas. chilling new details about the suspect in this one, and his motives. that's just ahead. [ male announcer ] where'd you get that idea?

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jenna: right now new information into our newsroom from some of the stories we are watching around the world today. starting out in france. french investigators outlining the human errors that played a role in the 2009 air france disaster over the atlantic ocean. the pilot didn't realize the plane was in a stall and didn't have sufficient training to fly that plane manually. it led to the deaths of 200 people plus as we mentioned.

at a mine there was an explosion, as a second mine there was a collapse of an elevator there. 20 miners are missing in both mines in the ukraine. terror attacks in norway killed 76 people. the man who confessed to the massacres facing his second interrogation. jon: new information just into our newsroom. a man credited with ending stkwref jeffery daemer's rain of terror faces possible homicide charges harris faulkner has the story. >> reporter: this story stands out. this was what police said the one victim that broke open of jeffreyee damer case. just to bring everybody back to that, tracy edwards was scene running down the street naked

outside of dahmer's home 20 years ago, and partially handcuffed near dahmer's apartment. police picked him up, traced him back to dahmer's apartment. they found body parts in his apartment, human remains. as the case unfolded and dahmer was found guilty of killing, raping and dismembering as many as 17 boys or men, this victim tracy williams was right there. they are saying that 52-year-old tracy edwards now is homeless and was seen with two other homeless men involved in an argument, when one of them fell into the milwaukee river from a bridge. this just happening. they are looking now at possible homicide charges against tracy edwards. the prosecutor's office there in millio milwaukee says they are reviewing the case with the homicide unit to see if he played any role in the death of the man who ended up in the

water in the milwaukee river. 20 years ago now we knew this man at just 32 and all these years later he is back in the headlines for a different reason now, jon. jon: strange story, coincidence, whatever you want to call it there. harris, thank you. jenna: new details on a disturbing story out of texas, and alleged would be terrorist busted not far from fort hood where he was reportedly plotting another attack on our troops and he was a soldier. a former cia officer gives us his take on this case straight ahead. ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ whistles ] ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪

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jon: and active duty u.s. army soldier suspecting of wanting to copy the fort hood shooter apparently was stopped just in time. naser jason adbo admits planning an attack similar to the one on

the texas base that occurred in 2009. 13 people died in that attack. the soldier taken into custody yesterday. they found a bomb stuffed ph a backpack and weapons in his hotel room following a tip they got from the same gun store where a pistol used in the 2009 attack was purchased. let's talk about it with peter brooks, he's a former cia officer and heritage fellow, a graduate of the naval academy. peter, so many strange aspects to this case. we can say, you know, great, investigators put the pieces together, and thank god for that alert clerk at the gun shop who noticed this guy acting oddly and turned him in, and yet, you know, absent one of those connections in the chain this could have been a terrible event all over again. >> yeah, i mean clearly, jon, he was a l orbs ne wolf. they are not necessarily

associating with other khrab ra tores. if it hadn't been for this vigilant alert citizen reporting to the police we might have had a terrible tragedy. the other thing that really bothers me about this is the association with al-qaida in the arabian pennsylvania. we will learn a lot more about this case in the coming days, but it appears that this potential terrorist had in his possession an article from an online magazine put out by al-qaida in the arabian pennsylvania, which is probably the most active, the most dangerous affiliate of al-qaida today. it basically told him how to make a bomb in your mom's kitchen. jon: right. >> the other issue out here that i'm concerned about is how is this individual radicalized. according to press reports he was a conscientious objector. did al-qaida in the arabian pennsylvania have a hand in that? the person being tried right now anyone hasan had contact with

al-qaida. jon: this guy naser jason adbo had a copy of the article from inspire. it's that online magazine put out by al-qaida, very slick, and full of stuff that appeals to some of the people that are ripe for radicalization. the question, peter is how does a guy like that get into the u.s. army. >> clearly there are a lot of people that come into the service. we need to make sure we are looking for people with these sort of pe potential straits. we had that problem with hasan nidal. it's my understanding he said nothing negative about the u.s. army or sake some sort of violent act against the u.s. army although he was a conscientious objector. kwaoe don't know when he changed his plans.

just before he was discharged he was charged with some other sort of crime and then he went awol. so it's not quite clear when he decided to undertake this and when he became radicalized. it's something, whether the army or anybody else we have to be cautious and be able to profile these terrorists. jon: peter brooks, good to talk to you, thank you, peter. jenna: a young american faces years in an italian prison for murder. could a new look at dna evidence that convicted her help set her free? we'll talk about it with our crime experts straight ahead. also new word of an alarming trend on our southern border. what it is, and how it's affecting america's third war straight ahead. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. jenna: fox news alert senate majority leader harry reid warning the last train is leaving the station, the final train, urging everyone to get on board to his plan to raise the debt ceiling. two trains on the same track

appear to be heading for a collision. there are two plans getting a whole lot of attention. we are so glad you are with us at noon on the east coast this friday. i'm jenna lee. jon: imagine him in a conductor's uniform. house republicans are changing their bill to try to avoid default, predicting they will have the votes to pass a revised version of house speaker's john boehner two-step proposal. we are now four calendar days away from the deadline to come up with a deal as president obama once again urges congress to compromise. less than 30 minutes away now from a white house briefing in which the issue likely will be front and center. jenna: absolutely. in the meantime the financial markets are keeping a close eye on this battle. we also have a weak economic report that hit the market today. first quarter gdp grew by just 4 1/0s of a percent. in the second quarter we just have our first reading on that wasn't much better. the weakest numbers since the

recession ended two years ago. that uncertainty is affect being the markets here and around the world. the dow is down a little bit more than 40 points. it's certainly been a tough morning and week. wendell goler is live at the white house. >> reporter: with the house struggling to pass a deficit cutting bill that lacks support from the left and the far right as you say the president called on the senate to act. he said there are plenty of ways out of this mess, but we need a deal by tuesday. the president said the country's aaa credit rating is at stake not because we lack money but in his words because we lack a aaa political system. he called for a compromise between two proposals offered by the republican and democratic leaders of the senate. >> we are in rough agreement about how much spending can be cut responsibly as a first step toward reducing our deficit. we agree on a process where the next step is a debate in the coming months on tax reform and

entitlement reform and i'm ready and willing to have that debate. if we need to put in place some kind of enforcement mechanism to hold us all accountable for making these reforms i'll support that too if it's done in a smart and balanced way. >> reporter: the senate majority leader harry reid says he will bring his bill to the floor possibly tonight with some changes to appeal to republicans, though he says it's already a good enough deal for republicans that they should put their chips in their pockets and walk away. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell doesn't see it that way, he accused reid of wasting time rounding up no votes to kill the proposal the house is considering instead of finding a bill that can possible both houses. after canceling plans for a vote last night law meekers say house speaker john boehner has tough end his proposal to require a balanced budget amendment be passed by both houses of congress and sent to the states before he would agree to a second vote raising the debt ceiling early next year. meanwhile lawmakers say treasury

secretary geithner has briefed them on the consequence of a default if the debt ceiling isn't raised by tuesday. geithner warned the international community is already upset because it can only get overnight loans. jenna: a lot of angles to this. thank you for covering this. thank you so much. jon: there is a new warning out on the dangers posed by al-qaida even after the death of osama bin laden. a recently retired counterterrorism official says the group and its allies want to attack the united states using weapons of mass destruction. we've heard that before. molly hen aburg is live in washington. what is it they think about now regarding a weapon of mass destruction and why that might be their next tactic? >> reporter: essentially they think al-qaida hasn't given up on that approach according to the former director of the national counterterrorism center. he was speaking to experts yesterday at the aspen security

forum and said terrorists continue to look at, quote, simple forms of chemical or biological weapons, something like the poison ricen which is easy to make he says. he went onto say, quote, we still have pockets of al-qaida around the world who see this as a keyway to fight us. is it going to kill many people? no. is it going to scare people? yes. osama bin laden favored larger attacks he said, but his successors and the al-qaida off shoots in the arabian pennsylvania and elsewhere believe the goal is to instill fear in americans and other westerners and they don't feel they need a large scale attack to do that. jon: what do these former counter terror officials think about the tactics of al-qaida's new leader ayman al-zawahri. >> reporter: osama bin laden's former right hand man has long been interested in using weapons of mass destruction to attack. according to former cia director

john ma glove flynn he may not be as charismatic but more disciplined. he believes ayman al-zawahri will launch less spectacular attacks on smaller targets. he says the smaller attacks, kwoelt are with us for at least the foreseeable future. jon: molly, thank you. jenna: an alarming trend along our southern border where authorities say they are seeing a huge spike in deadly drugs being smuggled into the country. keeping them off the streets is a daunting task to say the least. adam housley is live in san diego with more. >> reporter: that's right, jenna it is a daunting task. marijuana is still a cash crop for the cartels and an important one for their business. at the same time they are finding that smuggling in smaller amounts of cocaine, back tar heroin, methamphetamine, for example can be very important and lucrative for them. they are intermixing smugglers with the normal traffic that heads north here. according to the border patrol help are finding a massive increase in hard-core drug

smuggling. >> the trend seems to be much deeper conceal -plts, much more difficult to detect, and this is a real good example of that. this came in this morning. we got 14 pounds of mexican tar heroin out of this drive shaft. >> reporter: in just one hour at the san ysidro border crossing agents grabbed more than a quarter million dollars in hard-core drugs, including methamphetamine wedged inside a car battery and more narcotics found inside the lining of this suv. the seizure is part of a disturbing trend that has agents seeing a 70% increase in cocaine being smuggled, 40% more heroin, and 20% more methamphetamine. >> we have to make sure that we are throwing up every barrier that we can out here without choking off the flow of legitimate trade and travel. that's the difficult part of our job. >> reporter: on any given day about 40,000 cars come through the check-point, roughly 90,000 people. i mean take a look, absolutely massive. now try to figure out which car to look at, which drive train, for example, may have black-tar

heroin stuffed inside? the task seems impossible. the results of increased hard-core smuggling by the cartels means more heroin, meth and cocaine now widely available on the streets. >> there are more seizures of the harder drugs coming from mexico, and of course the affects of what that means for law enforcement, and the challenges that we face in addressing that going forward. >> reporter: that quarter million number that we found just in the one hour we were here doesn't include the suv which was packed with narcotics inside the lining. now right now even as i speak to you there are dog teams walking through the cars right there. they also watch for human nature as well, basic human nature, because as one agent told me, if those drugs get through here they scatter across the u.s. within hours. jenna. jenna: unbelievable, interesting stuff, adam, thank you very mu much. jon: a fox news weather alert for you now, tropical storm dawn is barreling towards the

southeastern coast of texas now. it is expected to make landfall later today. people along the coast are taking precautions. casey stegall live in corpus christi texas, what are they doing to get ready. >> reporter: just by looking around right now you would not be able to tell this areas under a tropical storm warning. in fact i'll have my photographer pan off of me and show you what is going on on that beautiful beach back there behind me, the surf not too heavy and folks are out there enjoying the beach, because as we've been reporting on, this part of the nation has been in the grips of a heatwave. if you look at the radar from the fox extreme weather center tropical storm dawn you can see inching closer and closer to the southeast texas coast, projected to make landfall now either late tonight or in the overnight hours. residents up and down the coast have started doing things like securing their boats, either getting them out of the water all together, or covering them with tarps, and as we also see during these times people

flocking to home improvement stores and buying up supplies, places like home depot and lowe's are doing a lot of business as texans brace for dawn. >> we've seen a great increase in plywood, generators. weather radios, bottled water. >> reporter: we are also seeing what we call that cone of uncertainty, which is where the storm will exactly hit. it is difficult to predict even with all of the computer models. right now the national hurricane center is forecasting this thing to make landfall between corpus christi where we are or about 166 miles south of here near south padre island. but no doubt folks are getting ready. jon: casey stegall on the coast of texas. looks like a nice day right now. thanks. jenna: let's check in with our meteorologist janice dean who is

taking a look at the radar that was just mentioned. does that sound like where it's going to hit. >> reporter: i hope he has a fox news rain slicker. it's going to start to get a little messy over the next few hours. let's take a look eight. he was pretty right. we have tropical warnings from matagor to texas all the way down to the mouth of the rio grand. this is tropical storm dawn, 50-mile an hour sustained winds. waters are warm we could see additional strengthening over the next couple of hours. we don't have a lot of time before the store makes landfall sometime tonight. there is the big orange blob we are talking about. starting to see outer bands moving across texas into louisiana. they need the rain, they need so much rain from this tropical storm, unfortunately they are not going to get the bulk of the rainfall. we think mexico is going to see the worst of the rainfall and it could be a beneficial to them and parts of south texas. there is that cone of

uncertainty that we are talking about, again making landfall some time in the overnight hours between corpus and browns villain we'll keep you posted throughout the evening. back to you. jenna: the cone of uncertainty, the orange blobs, it's that season again isn't it. >> reporter: it is and we have one behind this one, jenna we'll problem pwhraoeb talking about next week. jenna: we'll keep our audience updated on that and we hope casey does have that rain slicker. jon: i want a rain slicker. jenna: we don't get one we are inside. >> reporter: you don't have one. jon: can i come to your office and unlock the price closet. >> reporter: i have apprise closet somewhere. jon: that's what i heard. >> reporter: we'll check it out. jon: a revised republican bill could come up for a vote today. republican congressman jeb henserling of texas will tell us about the latest efforts to win votes on the house side. plus more reaction on the deadlock from the white house. we heard from president obama earlier. in just a few minutes we'll

bring you his spokesman's daily news briefing. let's go to harris at the web wall. she has more of what you all have to say. >> reporter: america is asking us on our foxnews.com/"happening now" page you can click on it and it will take you right to our live chat. i'm reading some of the comments. you know some of the best in-depth writing about the debt crisis and the deadlock going on in washington right now has happened in the "wall street journal" and senior writer steve moore is coming up. we want to get your questions for steve moore about the debt crisis. one man says, what was with the mandate last november. the message across america was pretty clear, why is it politics as normal still? get your ideas, your comments, your questions in on the live chat foxnews.com/"happening now," steve moore from the wall street courage coming up. stay with us. [ male announcer ] this is coach parker...

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jenna: fox news alert, senator harry reid talk being about the first news we are getting on the boehner plan, the new boehner plan in the house. let's take a hreupbs. >> right now what is being done in the house is not a compromise. it's being jammed through that with all kinds of nontransparent dealings, people shuffling in and out of the republican leadership's offices. so we're recognizing the only compromise that there is is mine. we are -- ours is truly a bi-partisan piece of legislation. and republicans realize that. i've had a number of republicans come to me. i had one republican come and say, thanks for your legislati legislation. we had meetings with a number of republicans last night, various senators and they feel concerned

that we are not arriving at a compromise, more so than what we have now. we want to do that. i repeat i've asked my friend senator mcconnell to meet with me to try to work this out, and i'm confident he will, i hope, come back with some suggestions that he has. the stakes continue be higher. the security of our nation, literally the security of our nation, every family is at stake here. if the debt ceiling is not increased every american family will feel an increase in their taxes in various ways, higher payments on all their debts, credit cards, loans they've taken out to put their kids through school, car payments, mortgages on their houses. so i say to my republican colleagues here in the senate, do the right thing. put the interests of the country ahead of the tea party extremists. they are the ones driving that. they are all in town, that's what all the news said, they

came, they've made all these demands. the people that we all represent want us to come together in a bi-partisan method. compromise is not a bad word. so it's time for us to act together and we hold our arms out to my republican colleagues, to visit with me, talk to me on how to strengthen my legislation. senator durbin. >> thank you senator reid on monday night we had an announcement and a message to the united states. jenna: we will continue streaming this live at foxnews.com. harry reid saying what is emerging in this new boehner bill in the house is not a compromise. he went onto say the only compromise is his. he also says that republicans are thanking him for his legislation. let's ask our next guest whether or not he was one of them that went to harry reid to thank him for that. jeb henserling from texas is here. you're laughing, i guess that wasn't you.

>> i'm afraid that wasn't me. i find it somewhat ironic to receive legislate taours from the democrat senate leader about legislating when it's been 800 days and under his leadership the u.s. senate has yet to produce a budget. under his leadership they have yet to pass a plan to deal with the debt crisis and to insure we pay our current bills. under speaker boehner's leadership not only have we passed the only plan, passed the only plan that would make the united states be current on its bills, we're on the precipice of passing the second plan. we have compromised. jenna: sorry to interrupt. we really need to confirm this. we are hearing reports that the second plan on this new boehner bill will include a balanced budget amendment. is that the case? >> yes, exactly what senator harry reid i think branded as radical, the idea that a great nation ought to balance its

budget. we believe again, as we said from the very start, we have a debt crisis not because of the debt sealing, but because of the debt. and we want to solve the problem long term and we told the president and harry reid, listen we will help you, we will compromise, we will vote to increase the debt sealing, something contrary to our dna, if we're going to do that you have to cut up the credit cards and not just solve the problem before the next election which aeu apparently is what the president cares about but solve it for the next generation. we put a provision in that we would increase the debt ceiling, but after that we want the house and senate to vote out a version of the balanced budget amendment and let the people decide. send it to the state. maybe the states vote it down but let's not kick the can down the road. we have to quit spending money we don't have, we have to quit borrowing 42-cents on the dollar much from the chinese and send

our bill to our children and grandchildren. we have to balance the budget of the united states of america and that is not radical. jenna: i have a very important question for you about the balanced budget amendment and whether it's in the spirit of compromise. i'll have to take a quick commercial break. if you stand by with me we'll talk about it in just a moment, thank you, sir. >> okay. thank you. [ male announcer ] where'd you get that idea?

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jenna: back with congressman jeb hensarling. he agreed to stay with us as we took a quick commercial break. we need to pay our bills and that seems to be very in vogue. a provision of the john boehner bill has a balanced budget amendment in it. the democrats have said that they have taken out any tax increase as part of your

compromise, no revenue boosting in there, that's their big compromise. the house has already passed a bill with a balanced budget amendment and it was dead upon arrival in the senate. how can you say this is in the spirit of compromise to have a balanced budget amendment in this bill when you know it will not pass the senate? >> house republicans already are compromise because we are agreeing to raise the debt sealing, something we don't want to do. the version of the balanced budget amendment we want would put a cap on spending and would create a supper majority to increase taxes aren't increased. the democrats said well we can't have that. we said okay, in the spirit of compromise we'll ask you to vote out a version, a version of the balanced budget amendment, doesn't have to be our version. then they came back and said,

well you're forcing us to vote too quickly and we said okay, in the spirit of compromise we won't do it now but some time in the fall the united states house, the united states senate ought to vote on some version of a balanced budget if going forward we are going to increase the debt ceiling. we are compromise all over the place here. the american people want the budget balanced. they do it in their families, they do it in their small businesses. 49 of the 50 states have a balanced budget requirement. if we are going to increase the debt ceiling let's take care of the debt and let's pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution? what harry reid and democrats think is radical is common-sense to every american family across our nation. jenna: if the scenario is that the balanced budget amendment is key for the republicans, the fate as we know it, we don't know for sure, this is how we expect it to play out based on the last week and a half that this bill you're putting forward will fail in the senate and the bill put forward by senator reid

will fail in the house. here we are about a compromise. what is your explanation? what do you say to the american people when this moves through the house and fails in the senate, what is next? >> again, let me make it very clear, the house has acted, the house has passed a plan, it's not a sound byte, it's not a two-page outline it's an actual plan passed by the united states house of representatives. i predict within a couple of hours we will have passed our second plan. harry reid hasn't passed his first. i don't know how to compromise if a bill hasn't been passed in the senate. i hope you're asking harry reid this question. he hasn't passed a budget in 800 days. he's known about the problem not nor weeks, not days, but months. why haven't they passed their first plan when the republican house is on the verge of passion its second plan? how do we compromise when they haven't passed a plan. jenna: we would love to talk to harry reid. if you could put a good word in

for us we'd appreciate that. >> i'm not sure he'd take my call,. jenna: thank you for taking time out of your day. jon: we'll be speaking to another senator ahead. as lawmakers duke it out over raising the debt limit there are serious concerns the u.s. could lose its aaa credit rating. how does this impact the average american's finances. james rosen joins us live from washington. >> reporter: you heard president obama say it again this morning if there is no debt ceiling deal and the federal government's credit rating is downgrade it will mean highest interest rates for everyone . translate that from all the economies and it means more debt to me. here is why. economists have estimated that the treasury department would respond to that by swiftly raising the yield on its treasury bond offerings by about half a percentage point. why? because uncle sam has suddenly been stamped on the forehead as

a riskier borrower. he has to make bond offerings more attractive for investors with a higher yield. the banks see that they want to prevent customers taking their pho*pb out of the bank and putting it in higher yield treasury bonds. the banks are going to pass that cost onto borrowers. let's say you need a car loan, your interest rate is going to jump, well that is a home loan we want to go back to our car loan you glitchee little board there. let's say the interest on your car loan jumps half a percentage point. your monthly payment will go up by about 2 thrarz a month. not so bad, this projection is based on the median car loan in the united states which is $10,000. lots of people borrow more than that for their car, they will pay more per month. how about your home loan? the median debt on a home in this country is $165,000. it's much higher here in the nation's capitol and in other big, expensive cities. based on that figure if your

interest rate spikes up by half a percentage point to about 5% then your monthly payment goes up by $50 per month, that we estimate is going to cost you over $500 more per year. >> and that would cut the size of the house that they could buy and the kind of house they could buy. that would push down the number of buyers for particular types of houses, and put the real estate market into even more of a slump than it is today. >> reporter: so those are some of the peel life consequences of this extraordinary political drama that has been grinding on between the white house, the treasury department, and both parties on capitol hill, and that, jon is why you can look at all of these people, regardless of party and say, you are debt to me, jon. jon: could be another book ahead there for you james. james rosen. >> reporter: all right. jon: thank you. jenna: in a texas courtroom right now the suspect arrested

on suspicion of plotting a deadly bombing and shooting spree at fort hood has just been charged with illegal possession of a firearm. his name is naser jason adbo, a u.s. soldier of pakistani descent, arrested with not only a firearm but suspected of having a bomb in his backpack as well. more on this developing story as we get it. so this is enzo, the artiste behind my wardrobe. you know, when i got him on e-trade he was all like "oh no, i cannot do investing." that's actually a perfect enzo. but after a couple educational videos, and a little hand holding from customer support... next thing you know he's got a stunning portfolio. now he's planning to retire in tuscany. we're both pretty emotional about it. shhhh, don't say a word. you're welcome. [ male announcer ] e-trade. investing unleashed. or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

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jon: president obama is calling on democrats and republicans to try to find some common ground to resolve the debt limit crisis but house republicans

and senate democrats are still ad odds. they're pushing to gain support for competing plans. talk about what is going on with alaska senator mark begich. chairman of the democratic steering and outreach committee. you might have heard the interview jenna did with congressman jeb hensarling of texas. look we in the house passed one proposal here, cut, cap, and balance. it was tabled by the senate. the senate hasn't put forward its own budget in 800 days. why not? can you answer that question? >> first let me start with the basis. there are lot of proposals out there. the senate democratic majority put out a framework several weeks ago. we worked on it for months. as you recall we laid it out there. also we have on this side of equation, "gang of six", made up of three republicans, three democrats pud out another proposal. both of them around $4 trillion of reductions and getting rid of loopholes in

variety of proposals. so, there is lot out there. i know a lot of people want to work on technical, this certain plan hasn't gone through this committee or that committee, there are several plans out there. what we should focus on instead of blaming everybody, focus on getting a result. i can tell you on the senate side, we're running out of time waiting for the house to do their work. there is lot of effort over here, both democrats and republicans trying to figure out what's the right approach here. and i think we can get there over time. we're running out of time now with the house. i hear what they always like to say, it is a great one-liner, gets good press coverage but the fact is there are multiple plans out there. there is only one bipartisan plan actually been presented and that has been "gang of six" made up of three republican three democrats on the senate side. jon: hasn't majority leader reid said the boehner plan, if it arrives in the senate is dead on arrival? i mean that doesn't sound like compromise? >> well, first off, you got to look at house.

the house is not compromising even talking to democrats over there that is their body bringing over one-sided proposal. let me put comparison here. i'm very clear on this i don't support a short-term plan of any kind. and the boehner plan is $900 billion worth of reductions. it is short term. you want to create more chaos in this economy? i am from the business world. that is where i grew up. that is where i made my money. story you did on real estate industry that's where which come from. you want to create more uncertainty in this economy, do a three and six-month plan. we need a multiple month plan to move beyond this gamesmanship. now do i think the reid plan is perfect? no. i think there are good ideas coming from the republicans, for example. i don't mind a vote with conditions on it, up-or-down vote regarding the idea of a balanced budget amendment. i supported sense of the senate in the past. shouldn't black i will ma the issue of debt limit. the debt limit is separate.

your story was very good story of impact it will have. so there is --. jon: would you advocate the president essentially use the 14th amendment to raise the debt ceiling unilaterally without congressional approval? >> the president's folks said they don't have the authority to do that. plus, for us to be thinking that way really shows how this system has collapsed here. we should be able to figure this out here. all the calls, i did a town hall meeting with alaskans last night. they're concerned we're unable to work together back here. and the most frustrating part being here last 2 1/2, three years, almost we can't sit down. i think there is movement, at least with senators, i can't talk about the house because they're going to send over one-sided proposal but on the senate, there is actually a lot of discussion and i think we need to focus on that. there should be no necessity to even consider the idea or the rumor of idea of a 14th amendment issue. the president said that is off the table. we should be able to accomplish this here. you know, you know, i'm

stumbling with words because probably the most frustrating thing that we can figure this out and maybe this pressure point we're in will force us to actually look at the long-term issues. again the difference to me is, we can't have a short-term fix. that is disruptive to this economy. we must have a long-term fix. jon: been a lot of short-term fixes issued, you know, -- >> you wonder why the economy is the way it is. you have proven my point. jon: senator mark begich, democrat from alaska. good to have you on. >> thank you very much. jenna: time running out for a possible default. the stock market we see down today, not as much as it was earlier on. we're trying to see if there is any reaction in the markets and what to make of some signs of weakness we're seeing in the economy. that's why we're doing a special edition of today, of america's asking. we'll ask your questions to steve moore straight ahead. questions like this one from danny. he wants to know are social security and medicare and military checks the first checks not to go out if we default? steve moore with answers

ahead, just in a moment.

>> coming up own america live. there is new development in the debt debate. has the boehner bill made a revision that will allow all republicans to get on board? congressman louie gohmert and senator rand paul will tell us if this wins them over. plus neil cavuto whether august 2nd is the real deadline. what happened to the 11-year-old girl who vanished in new hampshire monday night from her bedroom? we'll explore latest theories when i see you in the 17 minutes. jenna: time for town hall usa we have a lot of questions coming from you at foxnews.com/happeningnow on our board. we have stocks down. readings on the economy seem to be saying that the economy is weaker than most thought. we're asking questions to "wall street journal" senior economics writer steve moore. you have a lot of good ones today, steve. overwhelmingly people on our

chat and twitter telling us still they don't believe there is a need to raise the debt ceiling. what are your thoughts on that? >> right now, jenna, as you know we're borrowing about 30 to 35 cents for every dollar we spend. i do think the government can continue to operate for a few weeks past the debt deadline that would mean nonessential government employees would have to go home. it might mean the department of education and department of energy and department of labor might have to shut down for a while. i don't think most americans would think that would be a great tragedy. the longer this lingers on, jenna, the more it pinches spending programs people really care about like potentially medicare, veterans benefits and so on. it is interesting, jenna, because we don't know exactly, this is unchartered waters we're sailing in. there are no specific rules who gets paid first because we have never done this before. jenna: danny and james both have the same question about that. they were asking why is the president only talking about not paying social security, medicare and military

checks? is that on the top of the list? is that on the bottom of the list? what is your sense of that? >> first of all i've said this last week and i'm going to say it again, i think the possibility of a default on the debt is zero. we're not going to default because the first people in line to get paid are creditors. we'll maintain the full faith credit of the united states government. i think it has been irresponsible for the president to even hint that that might not happen. social security has its own trust fund as you know, jenna. i believe the social security administration could redeem the bonds it holds with the treasury department to continue to pay the benefits. so if you're getting social security benefits i don't think you have to worry. after that, who knows. i do believe veterans benefits would be paid. i certainly think the troops would be paid since that is essential to our national security. medicare? i'm sorry, jenna, i don't know because the administration hasn't told us what its priorities would be. jenna: greg on our chat board wants to take away all paychecks from democrats and republicans until they reach compromise. >> i'm with him on that.

that is the best argument i've heard for a long time. that will get them to reach a deal. jenna: i don't know how big after dent that would put in but that is one idea. donna has a headache on this. we have a lot of folks frustrated what is happening countdown clock right now. larry brought up a really interesting point. i haven't heard anywhere the fact even if we give obama or the republicans everything they want only takes us to 2012 or 2013. then the question is then what? >> that's a great question. let me go back to the last question, i love that person who said they shouldn't get paid until they get this done. i would go even further. i don't think congress should get a pay raise, senate or house until we get back to balanced budget. that may mean they will never have a pay raise. their responsibility to balance the budget and it is not happening. in terms of this point, it is true what this lady is saying, even if we pass this debt ceiling bill with 1 or $2 trillion of savings, jenna, we're talking about $40 trillion of spending over the next ten years.

$10 trillion of debt. no matter what we pass the national debt will continue to go up every year. i'm kind of with jeb hensarling. maybe we do need a balance the budget amendment only way to get back to fiscal sanity in this town. jenna: our viewers have good questions and good sense of humor as well. we always appreciate that as we appreciate you steve. thanks so much for coming and answering some of these questions. >> my pleasure. jon: i have a headache just like some of them. we're awaiting today's white house briefing. it is about to get underway. press secretary jay carney will take to the podium and give you the latest thoughts from the white house. when it against, we'll have it for you live.

jon: looks like there is

movement in the debt limit debate. a short time ago republican leadership saying there will was house vote today on house speaker john boehner's revised plan. if they're putting it to a vote it suggests that the leadership feels they have the votes to get it out of the house. on the senate side majority leader harry reid is moving forward with his own plan. with these dueling measures where do lawmakers go from here? let's bring in indiana senator dan coats, a republican and a member of the appropriations and joint economic committees. he got back into the senate after an absence after this last election in part because you wanted to work out some of these physical problems the country is facing right, senator? >> that is only reason i got back. i couldn't stand idlely by and watch our country become a different country and have our finances go down the drain so that can is why i'm here. jon: are we going to come to some agreement this time around? >> i think we have to.

if we don't i would support a short term going forward but we have to extract some real cuts to do that. the problem in the united states senate we haven't been able to debate a plan. the house, bless their hearts, keep working on plans, going through the tough slog to get something over to the snaflt. and the senate majority leader harry reid simply says we're not even going to allow debate. here again the house is now enhancing that are -- their bill. looks like a better than that they had before. it is coming over here. harry reid called it dead on arrival and will not allow us to debate it. if democrats don't like it debate it add an amendment, do something with it. all we here is carping what is wrong but not what is right. jon: congressman hensarling was saying very same thing to jenna earlier on our program. look we sent them something to the senate. at least we passed something and they put it on the table. >> this putting on the table procedural thing is simply a

bill-killer. and it delays us getting to any kind of agreement. again if the democrats, president obama, doesn't like what we have, then let's debate it. let them offer their amendment and approve it the way they wait to approve it. but they won't even let us talk about it. jon: the senate, we were talking about this earlier, the senate is supposed to be the saucer in which the boiling tea of the house is cooled, right? >> that's what the founders envisioned. jon: so, does it, there are a lot of congressman who were elected with tea party support who are pretty steamed right now the way things have been going. does that mean it's the senate's job to, i don't know, change that? >> well, it's the senate's job to step up together with the house and put something forward that the president will look at and debate. the president hasn't offered anything in writing what he wants and what he will support. he won't put that in writing. democrats don't allow debate what republicans do. it is frustrating. i'm getting tired getting

lectured what is wrong with our plans when they aren't coming forward with anything they think is right. jon: presidential news conferences and presidential statements not helpful, you think? >> not helpful. the president has been described leading from behind. and all he does now is come forward and lecture us every day about what's wrong and what we need to do according to his plans but doesn't get engaged. i think that is hurting the process. jon: indiana republican senator, dan coats, for being our guest. >> thank you. jenna: white house is stepping up pressure on congress for a compromise to pass a debt bill that can be signed by tuesday's deadline. the president's campaign staff is it jumping on social media and twitter, urging followers to contact republican lawmakers on capitol hill. a moment of levity, straight ahead. a must-see moment in fact as a bolt of lightning strikes dangerously close. that will be next.

jon: all right. our must-see moment of the day. tim graham was outside his chicago area home trying to catch a built of mother nature's fireworks in the sky. when this happened. take a look. that bolt hit so close you can hear the car alarms that it triggered. tim was thrown backwards into his car and pretty wired for a few hours afterwards. there is a shot. you can see how close that lightning bolt struck. pretty much right in the yard there. we're glad you are safe, tim. thank you for sending that in. >> maybe we should hire him. he seems to be where things are happening. jon: one tough photographer. >> we're glad you're okay for sure. meantime one of the things happening throughout the show today you've been chatting with us. well, we have some viewer maybe feedbacking comments we like to share, harris? >> if anybody thought no one was paying attention to the debt showdown they would not be right. by reing our chat you can

tell it is a huge topic. tom says, i heard solid detailed plans on the chat. president obama should have laid out a detailed plan as well instead of telling us what we wlr know. a lot of people on different sides of the issue here. ashley says, how did this country get into this position? does anybody really know? nwf, they should all be voted out of office at this point. where did all the money go we paid in taxes 3 1/2 months ago? how can we be unable to pay our bills and facing default. there is a lot of discussion. foxnews.com/happeningnow. always room and time for your voice. jon: harris. good comments today. >> we'll see what happens the next few hours. we understand boehner's bill will come to the into maybe by this evening. that's what everybody thought yesterday but the votes weren't there. jon: then what happens to it in the senate. that is the million dollar question. >> appreciate you joining us. jon: hope you have yourself g